Faust of Darkness
by Hapcelion
Summary: Years after Brood War, a struggling telepath finds that surviving amongst the stars isn't as simple as he once imagined it to be. As the galaxy begins to prepare for war, an old legacy left by his father suddenly brings new light to his surroundings.
1. Land of the Giant Mushrooms

**Beethoven**: Thx 2 u readers if you r&r. And no, I don't have any rights to the game except owning a copy of one.

**Hellcom44**: What? Read this piece of crap? You have a better chance finding Mars on a globe than getting any good review for this thing. I don't see why you bother with writing...

**Beethoven**: Well, we'll see then, won't we?

_**Faust of Darkness**_

_**Prologue**_

Aiden Faust held onto the tiny hands of his six year old son. In the chilling afternoon breeze of Korhal, it was easy to catch a cold, and Aiden was not intent on letting his Ryan get sick. The sun was not visible beyond the heavy veil of clouds above the planet and small droplets of rain began to shower the small green park the two were enjoying, conveniently located at the center of the capital of Korhal, Augustrad, surrounded by the mega structures and sky scrapers of the magnificent metropolis.

"Daddy!" Aiden faced his excited son, "let's go to the hut!" The child pointed to the small house upon a hill near the lake.

"How 'bout I race you, son?" Aiden smirked as he challenged his boy.

"I'll beat you! I always win races!" Ryan boasted as he began a sprint across the grassy hill.

Aiden followed up on his son and ran up neck and neck with the young lad.

"Daddy's gonna beat ya!" Aiden said as he ruffled Ryan's hair during the run.

"No you won't!" Ryan giggled as he ran even faster, the wind brushing against his face as if trying to push him back. Aiden smiled at his energetic son and feigned a stubbed toe, allowing Ryan to gain more distance between them. In but a few seconds, he was at under the well provided roof of a hut, turning his face and smiling triumphantly at his father.

"Well, son, you've done it again. So what prize do you want from this little match?" Aiden asked. Ryan pondered a bit and turned towards the lake, shimmering with little ripples from the rain. The small minnow-like fish under the water flashed their colors at him, orange and purple and blue; the small bugs buzzed about the torrent of water from above in a most harmonious fashion.

"I want to watch this..." the child said, placidly.

And so they stayed, watching the critters go about their business, listening to the peace and serenity that surrounded them, until...

_BOOOOOM!_ A sound that rumbled like thunder made its presence known as the ground rumbled. Aiden snapped his head around and saw the source of the commotion: people were running like panicked animals, flailing their arms and screaming, from the Municipal Law Enforcement Office building, a once shining and magnificent tower, now smoking from almost every high-up window and apparently ready to collapse.

What was this? A terrorist attack? Aiden thought in fear. The smell of smoldering ruins was adrift in the air, the winds bringing the smoke in their direction.

"Daddy! What happened?" Ryan asked, gripping his father's pant legs as if clinging on to dear life.

"Something bad... C'mon! Let's get out of here!" Aiden said, picking up Ryan and ran in the opposite direction of the dark scene.

Four hours of confusing traffic and security checking, Aiden was back at the hotel, his wife, Olivia, was waiting for him, pale in the face.

"Where were you! You guys had me worried!" She practically screamed at them. Aiden carried a sleeping Ryan on his shoulders, but his wife grabbed him by the wrist and brought them up to the lobby, where a giant TV showed the news.

"...10:30 this morning, Angus Mengsk has declared independence from the Confederacy and has stated that he would bring about bloodshed to those who trampled his world and its people. A few short hours later, a Rebel attack on the Municipal Law Enforcement Office of Korhal has left much of the building in ruin with over 50 dead and many hundreds more wounded, including innocent bystanders and tourists from other colonies.

Meanwhile, Rebel forces have taken over most of Korhal's major industrial centers and they seem poised to strike at Augustrad soon. They have also taken hold of many key starports, and evacuation procedures have been increasingly difficult, especially in the Augustrad Intergalactic Starport, as bugs in the system have severely crippled communication and disrupted transport schedules..."

"You see what's going on?" Olivia asked Aiden, a slight note of I-told-you-so attitude surfacing, "I _knew_ Korhal was a bad idea for a vacation! But no, you just had to get us here!"

"Olly, calm down, please." Aiden said as he placed Ryan on a nearby chair. "Alright, it was bad, I admit, I'm sorry."

"Now what's going to happen? A hijacking on an airline? A bomb here in the hotel? What are we going to do?" Olivia questioned him. She was scared, not just for her, but for them as well, Aiden could see it in her eyes.

"Don't worry, baby. I promise we're going to be fine. We just gotta stick together."

"And what? Get blown up together? I can't believe you talked us into going here."

"Look, I said I'm sorry! C'mon, please, we need to think of a way out of this..."

"Call on our congressman. Get him to bring an intervention force or something! For all we know, these Rebels may be just as bad as the Con—" Aiden quickly covered his wife's mouth with his hands.

"You want to get tagged?" Aiden asked rhetorically, eyeing the people gathered around the TV screen. The possibility of being heard by a Confederate agent was pretty high these days, as there was a lot of talk of dissent, and those who openly spoke out were 'tagged', traced, tracked, censured and spied upon, even on foreign citizens. Seeing as no one was watching them, he removed his hand.

"Well, what do you suggest?" Olivia asked, "We can't get out of here either way. You said we'd be here for just a week, then we'd move on , then be back in time for Ryan's birthday party; now look! One months on end and no way out! It's Ryan's birthday today! I knew we should have stayed with my mother..."

"Olly! Listen to me! We _will_ be fine. Now help me think."

"Your thinking has got us into too much trouble..."

Aiden was taken aback by this. But it was true. He had gotten them in this mess, just like all the other times he got into trouble, it was always his fault.

"Please, listen. The technicians say that they'll fix the bugs soon. The starport tram system should be open soon."

"How soon is 'soon'?"

"Uh, a few hours, maybe by midnight? I don't know!"

"Well how do you plan to get us off this godforsaken rock?" she groaned. Running her hands through her hair, she sat down in another chair and made what seemed to be sobbing sounds.

At that moment, the hotel manager announced the underground tunnels to the starport were open. Thank god! Aiden thought. Those tunnels were under repair from an earlier bombing attempt.

"C'mon! Let's go! Ryan, wake up, little man! We have to go home now!" Aiden shook his son awake as if he were brewing a cocktail. A now awakened Ryan rubbed his eyes and asked groggily,

"What time is it?"

"Around six. Let's go." Aiden grabbed Ryan's hands and pulled him forward, his other hand holding onto Olivia's. As the trio rushed from the lobby towards the underground subway, they found it was flooded by other refugees, eager to make an escape from the planet. There also seemed to be a lot of commotion and yelling, and angry voices. What was going on here? Aiden thought. Tiptoeing, he held his head as high as possible, and saw the source of the problem.

The technicians were pushing people back. What for, Aiden didn't know, but upon closer inspection, he saw that they were allowing only women and children onto the transport tram. Shit, he thought. But then, in a situation like this, he had only Olivia and Ryan to lose, and that was unacceptable. Holding their hands tightly, he began to push harder and harder up front. The people were unwilling to give space, but he forced his way forwards as much as possible.

"I have a child here! I got a kid! Get him out of here!" Aiden cried to the technicians. At that fortuitous moment, the tram people saw him and Ryan, as Aiden set the boy upon his shoulders. Moving as efficiently as they had been trained, the technicians managed to pull forth the small family to the opening of a car. As Olivia and Ryan were carefully inside the car, Aiden saw his chance to jump in... only to be pushed back.

"Sorry sir! Women and children only!" The gruff voice of a technician said as he shoved Aiden back. Olivia saw this and instead of moving further into the tram, she tried to jump out to grab Aiden's arm.

"Aiden! Get back here!" She screamed, tears in here eyes, "Don't leave!"

"Ma'am! He can't go! Get back in!" the gruff technician said, forcefully pushing her back into the car.

"Olly! I'll get to the starport! Meet you there! I promise!" Aiden yelled as he practically drowned in the sea of people. Olivia was shocked at the disappearance of her husband, but was soon overcome by the fearful response of her son to the absence of his father. He was standing among a small crowd of children, and stared up at his mother, lips trembling.

"M-mommy, where's daddy?" Olivia didn't know what to say to her child. What could she say? That he was going to be left to die with thousands of others? No, that wouldn't do. She had to keep his hopes up. Somehow.

"Daddy's just going back to get some stuff we left behind. He'll meet us at the starport." She responded, hoping that the answer would keep the boy's mind off the subject. It didn't.

"But I want to be with Daddy! Let me see Daddy!" Ryan shouted as he tried to squeeze past the torrent of refugees coming in through the door. Olivia snatched him up before he could be trampled by the newcomers' feet.

"Don't! Don't you go! He wanted us to stay together! Now just be patient. He'll be fine."

The electronic sound of bells ringing resonated through the cars of the tram and with a gentle jolt, the tram began to move, away from the crowd of doomed people outside. Ryan crawled and squirmed between people to get to a window, desperate to catch a glimpse of his father for. Through the see of bobbing heads and angry faces, he could see Aiden's face, staring solemnly at the last ride home. It was then that Ryan felt, no, _knew_ that he would never see his father again. As the sad feeling of loneliness burst from his heart like a river against a broken dam, he saw Aiden look into his eyes. Not wanting to let his child go without his blessings, Aiden gave an acknowledging nod and mouthed 'I love you' to Ryan. And with that, the tram sped away, creating a chasm between abandoned father and crying child.

It took about half an hour for the tram to get to the starport, and another half hour to board the starships. Onboard, Ryan could hear all sorts of things from his seat: the panicked voices of other passengers, the flight attendants trying desperately to calm everyone down and the news that was being broadcasted about the Confederacy preparing to use military force to solve the problem on Korhal once and for all.

His mother sat next to him, and began to cry. He didn't understand, but suddenly, he felt like crying again, and for some reason, he knew why his mother was crying. It was because she lost Daddy, Ryan thought. But the strange thing was that he thought she was also sad about saying stuff to him that she regretted saying. Now why was that? He wondered.

Ryan turned away. He didn't want to see or hear anymore sad things. He was tired, and had already cried until he had no more tears to let out. Feeling exhausted, he leaned his head against the starship. With a rumble the ship lifted off the ground and began its ascent into space. The workers and mechanics on the ground began to shrink in size and soon became nothing more than little ants from Ryan's point of view, soon to become nothing as the ship flew into the cold vacuum of space.

And in space, he thought he could see the sparkling lights of stars flashing, coming closer, until he realized that the flashes were starships. Looking closely, he could see hundreds of them, encroaching upon the planet, encircling it as if to prevent any other ships from leaving.

Fortunately, their ship was allowed to leave. As Ryan peeked at the passing ships, he could see some giant doors on vessels open up and large pointy things stuck out of them. He had no idea what they were for, until they launched out from their respective spots and fire burst from their ends, propelling them to the surface of Korhal.

Within less than a minute, there were multiple mushroom-like clouds on the planet, almost covering the entire planet. What was going on?

**Beethoven**: So? Is it good?

**Hellcom44**: Still say it sucks.

**Beethoven**: I never asked for your opinion, jackass.

**Hellcom44**: Hey, freedom of speech.


	2. Another birthday,

**Beethoven**: And again, I leave you, the reader(s) to peek at my works.

**Hellcom44**: Pfft! Yeah, fine piece of crud you keep making. You didn't even check the accuracy of those names and facts!

**Beethoven**: If you don't like it, then why the hell do you keep popping up!? And besides, how the heck was I supposed to know all about those? I'm not a Starcraft geek!

**Hellcom44**: It might give you something to do in your pitiful existance.

**Beethoven**: I hate you.

**Hellcom44**:Just for you, man. Just for you.

**Beethoven**: SoB.

_**Ch. 1**_

It was sixteen years since that day. Korhal. One thousand Apocalypse class nuclear missiles and millions of innocent lives lost. And his father. Ryan couldn't sleep in his bunk. Today was his birthday. Another stinking birthday, just like the rest. Another day of depression. Worst of all, he had to have it on his late father's ship, the _Adamant Chaos_.

Was it fate that had led his birthday to coincide with the death of his father and countless others? Ryan didn't want to think about it. Just trying to remember his father was becoming troublesome. The memories of him were starting to fade, and try as he might, Ryan couldn't hold onto them forever, no matter how hard he clung to them.

He had loved his father. Back then anyway. They were both happy. But come June 6th and every last ounce of happiness was instantly flushed down the toilet by those damn Confederates. And then, not to forget, the Rebel idiots that got them into that mess in the first place.

He was dwelling to much on negative thoughts. Chen Li, the ship's doctor, had told him it was a bad thing. Unhealthy for mind and body. So Ryan got up and went to the restroom. He flipped a switch and the florescent lights flickered on. Inside were a few space age toilets on the right side of the room, built to keep waste in, even during turbulent battles. But Ryan need to freshen up. On the opposite wall, he saw a row of sinks and a large mirror panel.

Turning a faucet on, a stream of cool water flowed from the tap and into his hands, which he splashed up into his face. Repeating the process a few times, he gave himself a good rub in the face before he looked into the mirror.

His features were like those of most other Terrans: messy brown hair, hazel eyes which seemed angry most of the time, and slightly tanned skin. His nose was shorter than most, though not immediately distinguishable, and his ears were perfectly proportional to his head, not too big, not too small. He opened his mouth to inspect his teeth. Good, straight, but could use a little tooth past to get rid of that plaque Doc Chen kept bugging him about.

Then there was the new issue to look at. He wasn't wearing a shirt, which meant that he could check up on his new scar with ease. It was originally a foot-long-gash in his abdomen, caused by a rampaging zergling about a month ago. Luckily, Chen Li was also there when the beast was trying to pounce on people, and he promptly stitched Ryan's wounds up. He moved his hand over the scar and felt a tingling pain trickle about the scar. Still, the pain was good, he thought. It told you that you were still alive.

Looking back into the mirror, he saw his figure again. He wasn't really muscular. It would have been nice to impress the ladies, but then again, he had other things to worry about. At least he got enough exercise from all those guns-for-hire missions he ran.

Speaking of which, why the hell weren't they at the Kel-Morian Combine's base? They should have been there an hour ago to meet with their employers and get some intel for their next mission.

Ryan went back to his bunk to grab an old Navy shirt and took a lift to the Control Room. As he walked into the room, he could see all the computer screens flashing with information and data, maps and coordinates. It was still a sight to see, but walking in so fast nearly blinded him. Already irritated by the day's date and the seeming tardiness of his crew he stomped most of the way to the front of the control center, expecting to satisfy his curiosity. Of course, he didn't have to wait long to get an answer, because he soon felt a rough hand pat his head.

"So, Skipper, what's gotten you up this early?" a voice asked. Ryan turned around to see his First Mate, Jack Howards. He wasn't entirely bright, but was still good at heart, though slightly alcoholic. However, if it was beauty on the inside that mattered, then one might want to pass over Jack's looks, as he had a pretty big nose, which many thought he used to get into other people's business sometimes. Then again, that was kind of his job... His ears were big as well, and he had one buck tooth missing, which obviously went missing in a bar fight, though Jack refused to comment on it. Other than that, both Ryan and Jack shared the same hair and eye color, much to their dismay. Jack's skin, however was almost milk white. He'd make a pretty spooky ghost... in the traditional sense.

"Yeah, I thought we were supposed to be at that Combine base an hour ago." Ryan replied, still annoyed at their delay in schedule.

"Yup. Know that. Just got a problem with the engines. Jasper Delacroix's trying to fix it up, that mad old goat." Jack chuckled, but saw that Ryan wasn't laughing with him as he'd usually do. What was he forgetting... Oh, right... that...

"Ah, yes. Birthday got you down again? Sorry I forgot." Jack apologized. He knew Ryan wasn't really up for too much talking on this particular day.

"So, how long do you reckon we'll take?" Ryan asked, brushing aside the topic of his burden.

"About another hour. Don't worry, about at thing." was all that Jack said before Ryan left to attend to other matters. Jack opened his mouth, about to say something, but decided it best to leave it for later. It was better to discuss things in private.

**Beethoven**: Well, another chapter done. So, reviews?

**Hellcom44**: Still sure you want it?

**Beethoven**: Shut up.

**Felmark**: Hey, guys!

**Beethoven**: Yo.

**Felmark**: Is this your fic?

**Hellcom44**: What gave him away? The cheesy dialogues?

**Beethoven**: What?!

**Felmark**: Uh... Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of saying interesting story line, but...

**Hellcom44**: He sucks?

**Felmark**: No! I mean, kind of... Well, he'd need to beef up a little on the depression part a bit...

**Beethoven**: You see, why can't you give some constructive criticism like Felmark?

**Hellcom44**: Dunno. Just seems like you aren't going to amount to anything in writing stories like this.


	3. Another mission

**Beethoven**: Guys! Back to the story please! And remember to tell me the pros and cons.

**Hellcom44**: It's redundant if they don't like it.

**Beethoven**: Who asked you?

**Dots100**: You wrote another one? SWEET!

**Beethoven**: ...

**Hellcom44**: ...

_**Ch. 2**_

An hour later, Ryan and his crew found themselves on an orbital station above Moria. It was an old rust bucket, seeing as it had been through the Guild Wars and the Brood War.

When the _Adamant_ docked, the crew was greeted by a representative of the Combine, eager to talk about money and chaos. His name was Joe Hemmington, and everyone knew his reputation as a wealthy import/export businessman.

"Ryan! Good to see you again, old chap. Business as good as always?" Joe asked. The man smiled at Ryan, but the young Faust knew it was just a facade. Joe was always cold and calculating underneath. It wasn't just the look in his eyes that held no warmth, it was just some strange feeling that Ryan could always pick up around people. He could feel what other's felt. Some of the time at least...

"Just fine, thanks. What do you have for us this time?" Ryan asked in return, trying to get to the point.

"Ah, yes, that! Well, the Combine feels slightly threatened by the presence of Dominion soldiers near the newly discovered world of Yulan, which is neighboring one of our planets, Olus. Though it was agreed that Yulan would remain under the neutral control of Antiga Prime, it seems likely that both sides have been conducting secret mining operations of sorts on that planet. We would like you to investigate and uncover what they are actually up to. And please, do bring back any tidbits of information that you find."

"Well, I hope you have the courtesy of arming my ship and crew, Joe. We kind of got a bit messed up from our last run."

"No problem, we have technicians on the way as we speak. And," Joe looked around to see if anyone was paying attention, "Might I talk to you in private? I have something important you'd find interesting."

Ryan was a bit surprised at this. Joe had never asked to be talked to in private. He was always acting open and friendly. Acknowledging the request, Ryan nodded and followed Joe into his private office.

"So, Joe, what was it you wanted to talk about?" Ryan asked, anxious to know what the secret was.

"I believe you know a bit about your father's work here at the Morian National Institute of Technology?" Joe quizzed the young man. Ryan's face slowly soured.

"Yes. He was a ship builder. So what?" he huffed.

"Well, no one ever recognized his engineering genius until we began to sort out his office and found some old scraps of paper." Ryan's eyes widened a bit. What had they found?

"Yes," continued Joe, "It seemed he was creating a theoretical design of a new engine thruster and battlement blueprints for a new ship. He apparently dubbed it the 'Seraph Mk. 0'. However, we never got into it until the Brood War. When we were fearful of Zerg attack and offensives from the U.E.D., we looked desperately for new ships that would help defend the Combine. Your father's ship came to my mind first. It had radical new schemes to it. Giant Gauss Cannons! Anti-Gravitational Propulsions Systems! Who would have thought? And let's not forget his Tri-Laser Rapid-fire batteries! Those have become especially useful in our new gunships, putting us on par with the new Banshees that the Dominion has now. His ingenuity was close to Protossian if you ask me. And he even knew how to power up all these things. Do you know what he made?"

"What?" Ryan asked, unsure of what was going on.

"He created a Mass Fusion Particle Acceleration Reactor! The reactor theoretically produces enough power to heat up six Behemoth class battlecruisers! And considering how large the first prototype design is, I can't say I'm very surprised..."

"And let me guess... you've made this thing?" Ryan asked, perplexed at this new discovery.

"What? Heavens, no! Too expensive for even the likes of the Combine. Think of all the money that would be needed to uphold the Defense Budget! What large chunk would be taken out of that to fund an experiment that might not work? No, we had the design buried for a time, until we could gather enough resources from the other companies."

"Then what do you want me for?" Ryan pushed further, eager to get to the point.

"We've made a few modifications on your father's designs. With the reverse engineering of Protoss technology, we feel confident in the creation of a vessel that is both of your father's genius and of our own improvisation. One better than any ship in the system. Now this little venture will not be funded by the Combine. That's my job. I got enough money to start scrounging supplies. However, it is necessary to procure technologies that are far above average. The situation on Yulan may very well be hiding some scavenged Protoss tech."

"And that's all? Just get crap for you to make stuff with?"

"Not quite... we need you to act as a sort of emissary with the Protoss. It might help trading technology for something useful. Ever heard of Jim Raynor?"

"Yeah. He's basically best buds with them. Pretty much the only human with Protoss friends."

"Start making new friends then."

**Beethoven**: And there we go. Done. Any suggestions?

**Hellcom44**: What the heck did you just do? Don't you think you squashed in a bit too much into this story?

**Felmark**: Yeah. That's kind of noticeable.

**Beethoven**: OK! OK! I'll get to it next chapter!


	4. King of the Hill

**Beethoven**: Here we go again.

**Dots100**: WooHoo!

**Hellcom44**: Shut it you.

**Beethoven**: Alright! You guys all know the rules. Get to readin' and get to reviewin'!

**Hellcom44**: And you can stuff it, too!

_**Ch. 3**_

"So let me get this strait. You got us a recon job?" Mike Addler asked. The sniper shook his head. He had been hoping for a full scale combat mission that would test his mettle. Sure the pay was the same as always, but that didn't mean the excitement was there, especially now. Annoyed at being dragged into the situation, Addler had no choice and swallowed his insults, following along with the skipper to a dropship along with two of the other mercs, the brothers Jerry and Terry.

"So, where we going this time?" Addler asked.

"Yulan. Ever heard of the place?" Ryan asked in return.

"Can't say I have. But I would like to be able to get a few good kills with my baby." Addler commented as he stroked his C-10 Canister Rifle. He had had numerous kills with it, Zerg and Terran alike.

"Just don't make too much of a mess or we'll be caught." Mike rolled his eyes. His captain was always fussy about his itchy trigger finger. When they were done loading, the transport left the docking bay of the _Adamant Chaos_ and took a good view of Yulan in the light of a Blue Giant sun.

Once their strike team was in the atmosphere, Faust began reviewing over the details.

"Ok, we'll be dropped about three clicks South-Southwest of the forward Dominion base. It's guarding a pass that has several small outposts and sentry locations scattered about the area. They keep track of whoever gets near the base. Now about four clicks East is a small Antigan outpost that is supposed to keep close contact with the Dominion base. They secure an underground route that leads up behind main base, hidden in the mountains somewhere.

"It's suicide trying to get there directly on the road, so that's why we have some of Joe's boys act as decoys and cause a distraction in the Antigan base so we can slip through. We're gonna go fast, since the Dominion will probably come to back them up. Everyone got their cloaking units prepped?" Ryan made sure his men were ready to go before they landed and grabbed his own C-10.

Once the craft touched down, they were on their own. It was night outside, and it made their shuffling harder to detect. Stepping over scraggly ground and several small, dry shrubs, they saw on the horizon a small shimmering of light. It was the Antigan base. All they had to do now was get close enough. The base was set on top of a ledge, guarding a sloped road. Typical problem. This was where Joe was supposed to handle things.

"Hey, Skip!" Terry hissed, "When they comin'?"

"Dunno. Just hang tight." Ryan said, trying to pacify his companion.

They didn't have to wait for long. Within a few minutes, wraiths were in the sky and shooting burst lasers at everything that moved. This was it.

"Alright, move!" Ryan whispered. Everyone engaged cloak and sneaked past the denizens of the base, who were panicking and desperately trying to hide from the rain of fire overhead.

Running towards the command center, they looked back: the base was in ruins, and the survivors were retreating into bunkers, still unaware that the wraiths had left. The fires left over burned intensely, refusing to be snuffed out by valiant attempt by Antigan Damage Control groups. In the ensuing chaos, Ryan and his team sped across the dirt ground, leaving only footprints and clouds of dust in their wake.

Once they got inside the command center, they sought out the control room, where Jerry hacked the system computers, revealing the tunnel network underneath leading to the mountain complex. And the entrance was conveniently three floors below.

"Let the games begin." Ryan smirked.

**Beethoven**: Just checking, but did that feel a little bit rushed?

**Hellcom44**: You kidding me? You probably knocked the reading into orbit with this thing.

**Beethoven**: Crap.

**Hellcom44**: I mean, where's the "Action" part?

**Beethoven**: I'm getting to it!

**Felmark**: Don't worry. For someone like you, I think your afraid to use too many words. Just don't be too shy about it.

**Beethoven**: Thanks.


	5. Light at the end of a tunnel?

**Hellcom44**: Don't say anything. It's redundant.

**Beethoven**: Well I got to say something. It's my story.

**Dots100**: Yeah! Let the underdog speak!

**Beethoven**: We weren't asking for your opinion.

**Dots100**: Grrr...

**Hellcom44**: Wise men talk because they have something to say. Fools talk because they have to say something. Thank Plato...

_**Ch. 4**_

The caverns underneath were recently drilled out. It had to be. Rocks were all over the place from drilling and boxes and other material were stacked about with bulldozers occasionally driving by to get the stones out of the way. It was dark in there: even with the added lights and lanterns, which were few and far between, once could barely see anything.

However, the mercenaries were still on their guard for any Dominion patrol that may come their way. Thrice along the way, they had narrowly dodged detection from a couple of jeeps that had shot their floodlights in their direction, saved by their invisibility and the misshapen rocks in the surrounding environment that hid them.

They covered what seemed to be miles and miles of tunnels and Terry and Mike constantly asked Jerry where they were going, since he downloaded the map of the tunnels into his HUD. Soon annoyed at the constant pestering, Ryan and Jerry told the other two to shut the hell up.

"I have a schedule on the mountain complex." Jerry told Ryan, elaborating on plan. "They had a number of shipments today, and the last one was set to be inside five minutes ago."

"Damn patrols." Terry cursed, "We could have jacked a ride."

"We worry about that later when we find the gate." Ryan said, quieting his companions. This certainly wasn't an enjoyable beginning.

After an hour's hike, they finally spied an entrance at the end of the tunnel, well lit and under light security. There were six marines, in full body armor, with Gauss guns cradled in their arms. They were colored in red, the Dominion military color. Then I guess they won't mind if I paint their suits that color, Ryan thought.

"Alright, let's get to smiting!" Mike hissed, eager to set his rifle to use. Ryan agreed and all of them set their sites on a target. Level scope and dot for a head shot was the most convenient way to get the job done, and since their rifles were silenced, they wouldn't have any nuisance from the Dominion for a while to come.

But something didn't feel right. As he looked and concentrated on the marine in front of the entrance, he felt something different in his head, aside from the urge that said to kill. Ryan, though he didn't know how to express it, _knew_ that something was coming, and felt impatient about it. That's odd, he thought, why would something come up on us right now? It was at that moment that a small voice, a whisper came into his head, not his ears: ..._damn truck still ain't here. Should've been able to get a beer five minutes ago_...

Great, now I'm hearing things? Ryan thought. He was greatly confused and lowered his rifle, holding back behind their rocky position. His teammates, seeing this, followed suit.

"Dude, what's up?" Mike asked, curious as to why his leader was acting suspiciously.

"Do you—er—get the feeling that something coming up?" Ryan asked, a slight tremble in his demeanor present.

"Um, no. I can't say I feel anything fishy. What's on your mind?" Terry replied. He, too was curious as to why they didn't already assassinate the marines.

"I don't know. I just get this feeling that something's not over yet. Maybe we should wait a while." Ryan suggested, hoping he didn't sound too scared. He was wrong.

His teammates eyed him for a second and then started to snicker and conceal their coughs as best they could in the situation given.

"What? Has the team leader gone chicken?" Terry chuckled

Ryan grimaced. He hated it when his team made fun of him this way. Then again, he would do the same for them, too...

"Look all I'm saying—" Ryan didn't finish, because he noticed the opposite end of the tunnel had lighted up.

"Cloak damnit!" By the time everyone was invisible, a small truck carrying something that was wrapped in canvas headed for the entrance.

"I thought you said they didn't have any shipments left!" Terry grabbed Jerry, pointing his finger accusingly into the other's face.

"I dunno! Maybe it was late!" Jerry whispered in defense.

"Quite!" Ryan commanded, "Alright: Jerry, Terry; under the truck. Mike; with me on top."

Silently, the two brothers rolled into the middle of the tunnel road, awaiting the truck's underbelly. Mike and Ryan waited on the side, ready to hop the bandwagon. When the truck moved to the entrance checkpoint, the guards took no time in berating the drivers for not coming sooner and saving them the trouble of waiting. The marines then quickly checking over the vehicle and cargo, a number of crates containing rations, and let it pass, not noticing the blurs on the truck's back.

All four mercenaries got off the truck after it passed the checkpoint and made its way to the interior facility, where a hubbub of activity was going on. Technicians were organizing and arranging supplies and equipment and were helping scientists set up what seemed to be sphere attached to the top of a pyramid with its top inverted inwards. They almost looked like...

"Neural Latency Inhibitors." Ryan muttered. He had seen these things before. The Combine used them to contain psionicly gifted prisoners. He wasn't much of a fan of those, though he didn't know why. Maybe it was because it inhibited the freedom of ones mind... but then it might have prevented deaths. Who knew... And they were also good against enemy Ghosts that were always trying to get into people minds and steal information from bases valuable in a fight.

They were careful not to get too close to personnel inside the base, and quickly scurried off to a computer before anyone noticed their wobbly outlines. From a port in a nearby computer, Jerry inserted a small disc that he was saving in his breast pocket. This happened to have a virus downloaded into it that scrambled the detection sensors inside the base. As the download was completed, they made their way past numerous firewalls and barriers in the system and obtained a map of the complex.

They were in the lobby section, and the main computer terminal was set up north, in the control room, apparently one floor down, too. Ryan gazed over the map and checkpoints again and again until he looked back at his companions.

"Alright, boys. Here's how we do it." He spoke silently, "We'll sneak to the command center, and get a good view of the cameras. Make sure you take out all of the officers. That'll cause a helluva lot of chaos for the base. Use the big comp to find useful tidbits, so we can find 'em and download 'em."

"Gottit!" the other three replied simultaneously.

They made way through the labyrinth of machinery and technology, avoiding any unnecessary accidents, such as bumping into personnel and making conspicuous noises. When they finally appeared just outside the control center, they saw it complemented by sixteen marines and two reapers. Hiding inside an deserted storage room, they stocked on their suppressors and waited for someone to open the door.

Their wait took a few minutes, until the arrival of a nervous, pale faced technician, half walking, half running about the facility, as if he was trying to get away from something, and yet trying not to look too suspicious. He took out a card and inserted it into a computer, lowering the security gates.

_Perhaps I could, sabotage the controls..._ a voice streaked through Ryan's mind. The hell? He thought. It was almost as if he were telepathic...No, can't be...

Ryan signaled the others to follow the man and slipped by guard force. Once the security gate to the room was reset, Jerry took out his own card. It was all black; a system knock out card, as the hacker called it. That one card was able to effectively place an entire base under automatic shutdown; irreversible for six hours, and only the card could open up any passage way when needed.

However, Ryan told his men to wait.

"What is it now?" Terry asked, annoyed at the delay once more.

"I think one of them's up to something..." Ryan eyed the suspicious technician. He was fidgeting about a computer terminal, looking about every now and then to see whether anyone was peaking at his 'work'. As he turned his head back to the computer screen he typed faster than he had previously done before. With the clattering of keys becoming more and more noticeable from his direction, an armed guard with a pistol walked over with an irritated frown, most likely to get the man to type slowly and quietly. Unfortunately, he also saw the screen.

"What the hell are you doing!?" the guard screamed.

"You're all goin' to hell!" the technician announced to the other members of the control center as he pressed the enter key. Within a fraction of a second, he was laden with bullets in his chest and blood splattered all over his shirt.

At that moment, the automated guard systems turned on. The tiles underneath the mercenaries elevated to reveal auto cannons, firing multiple rounds at the occupants. As the remaining guards attempted to fight back, the remaining administrative personnel were scampering towards the security gate, only to be brutally gunned down by the auto cannons outside.

Oh shit... Ryan had his men shoot out the turrets in the room, as the cannons were busy trying to kill everyone else. Now in a room with a bunch of dead bodies, each man pondered over why a technician would betray the Dominion with such disregard for his own life.

"Maybe he was making way for an invasion force?" Mike suggested.

"Dunno. Maybe. Whadda we do now, skip?" Terry asked.

"Stick to the plan. Get what we can." Ryan said, his voice unfaltering despite his growing doubts for the mission.

Ryan had Jerry continue his course of action. The hacker inserted the K.O. card into a nearby terminal and downloaded the virus. They saw the monitors of the room show all the parts of the facility lockdown. Doors locked shut, gates held tight and didn't budge. Meanwhile, the occupants were desperately trying to fend off the frenzy of gunfire that was spouting from the auto cannons.

"Um, guys? Maybe you should look at this..." Jerry pointed at the computer that the technician was on earlier. As the group crowded about the screen they could see a counter, counting down ominously, with big green words below it:

System Corrupt! System overload in 30 seconds. 

"Shit." Terry said, "Now we won't have power. How are we going to find anything interesting now?"

"Well at least we won't be facing any more turrets." His brother piped up hopefully.

"Shut it."

"Don't worry. There's gonna be power. These bases always have auxiliary power generators." Ryan assured a pissed off Terry.

"Any surviving marines and facility crew will probably head for the exit. Some might come here to figure out what the hell just happened or just find a place to hide until help arrives." Mike warned them.

"Jerry?" Ryan asked, "How long 'till the Dominion base gets here?"

"Oh, well, since they only make a few calls to see how progress is going, I'd say... two hours."

They prepared for the darkness to come and only had to wait a few seconds longer in the pitch black environment before dim red lights popped up from the floors and ceilings. The computers and mains screen rebooted, and lines upon lines of information were streaming through them, attempting to set the system back to the norm. When the cameras began working again, the team scrutinized them carefully, hopeful of finding something of interest or relating to Protoss technology. Jerry got busy hacking into the mainframe and trying to set up inquiries as to what the base had in it and what kind of research it had going. What he found was..._slightly_ more disturbing than he could have imagined.

"Holy shit! You boys ain't gonna believe this!" Jerry tacked away at the keys and set it up on the mains screen. Ryan stared at the screen in awe. A scraggly, reptilian creature, very humanoid in its looks, was afloat in cryo-tube.

"Is it a Protoss?" Mike asked, intrigued by the news.

"Info says...Protoss-Human Hybrid..." Jerry and Terry's mouths were like giant 'O's, leaving the other two mercenaries to curse under their breaths in, almost, silent admirations.

What the hell were these idiots doing?

**Beethoven**: Ok. All that should make up for the wait.

**Hellcom44**: Sure, whatever you say. I doubt you've got any more listeners...

**Beethoven**: Screw you!

**Felmark**: Guys? Calm down. We don't want another 'bar incident', do we?

**Beethoven**: No...

**Dots100**: Anyways, R&R! Need more comments!


	6. 山下人妖

**Beethoven**: Alright. Now that I've gotten over that bit, maybe I'll start being more productive.

**Dots100**: We're all for you man! DAAAAAAAAAH!

**Hellcom44**: ...Um, yeah, whatever. Just make sure you don't screw up like you usually do. You kinda make the characters sound like simpletons...

**Beethoven**: Shove it.

**Felmark**: Oh, well. Remember, viewers. Always read and review! The kid needs it!

**Beethoven**: What the hell?! I'm not a kid!

_**Faust of Darkness**_

_**Ch. 5**_

"Well, I guess we gotta take something of use." Ryan commented as they looked at the screen. The hybrid in the monitor was asleep, thankfully, as were all the other test subjects like it that the system computers found. No wonder the Dominion had Neural Latency Inhibitors... Those things were only good within small areas, enough to make a tiny room safe from telepathic espionage.

"Alright, Jerry, get to finding some lab files and logs." Mike ordered to his companion. This was the freakiest discovery since the coming of the Zerg into the Koprulu Sector, and they didn't want to miss out on every last detail on it.

Jerry hacked away at the computer, picking up as much data and info as possible into an inserted memory disk. The wealth of knowledge in the databanks was huge, and the computer hacker wasn't sure whether his little disk could hold it all.

"Guys?" Jerry tried to catch his fellows' attentions, "Says here that their located in the cell-blocks a klick East of here," He waved his finger arbitrarily in the air for a few seconds before laying it to rest "iiinnn...that direction." The other mercs looked at where Jerry's index finger was pointing. It was on the computer's map, showing the control room and the many flights of stairs and corridors leading to the detention block with cryo-tubes.

Ryan turned back to check on the technician's body that lay spread eagle like on the floor: cold, lifeless, but could contain something nifty... He searched the man's clothes, and only found a small medallion with an double headed eagle carved into gold. Oh well, better take something... Ryan thought as he pocketed his find.

When the disk was loaded, Jerry stashed it away into one of his pockets and the group proceeded to opening the gates with his K.O. card.

"But aren't the guns outside of the gate going to open fire on us?" Ryan asked as the card was being analyzed.

"Well, I'm sure the system reboot would have reset the guard systems." Jerry shrugged.

They didn't want to risk it, however, as Mike dragged a corpse over and shoved it out into the open. The guns didn't come out.

"You sure they only sense motion? Any heat?" Terry asked.

"Not... really." Jerry replied sheepishly.

"Crap." Terry stuck his head out, as if to draw fire from the auto cannons. Still, nothing. "Well, that's kinda lucky."

The team cloaked on and separated into two groups: Jerry and Ryan would go to the detainment blocks to check out the test subjects, while Terry and Mike would find a suitable vehicle to escape in, carry the cargo and radio in for an evac.

As they went their separate ways, Ryan began to feel his heart pump faster, more sporadic, and his head felt dizzy. It was odd, as he had never had to deal with these symptoms on any of his missions, no matter how harsh or cruel they were.

Oh God... suddenly I'm hearing people think, now I'm getting sick? This isn't my day... Ryan could only try to shake off the annoying feelings he had and trudged onwards to the objective.

Their little venture had currently taken up about an hour. Jerry had said the most time they had before Dominion goons arrived was two, so they had to move fast. When they found the yellow and black striped doors to the Detainment block, Jerry inserted his card and unlocked it. The doors swooshed open and in the dark red light, the two could see the luminescent glow of cryo-gel suspending the inhuman creatures in their tanks, encircling a Neural Latency Inhibitor in the middle of the room.

Ryan had never seen so many aliens in his life. He was more accustomed to fighting Terran troops and vehicles, but never anything like the Protoss... stepping up to the glass tube containing a specimen of a hybrid, he placed a gloved hand on the glass, swiping away the condensing water droplets to get a clearer look at what he was dealing with.

There was no mouth, oddly enough, and the skin was bluish green. Thin plastic tubes and vessels hooked into the body of the hybrid, still in deep slumber. Looking at the body, he guessed the gender was male, as the torso and arms were apparently more developed and the overall figure was quite muscular and thick, more human than Protoss, who often looked really thin, especially around the waist. He was thankful that the eyes were not open, for he did not know how to handle it. Would they be human eyes with colored irises staring back at him? Or could they glow demonically like those tales Marines told about battles with the Protoss?

Ryan decided not to ponder on those thoughts any further. It disturbed him greatly. Looking down the row of tubes, he and Jerry counted the number of subjects that were encased in glass tombs. An overall roll call estimated that there were over twenty of these things, and their bio-meters seemed to indicate that they were in perfect condition, save for one that died.

However, at the end of the block, he could see the door to another room.

"Jerry!" he called out, "Where does this lead to?"

"I think it's an extended section. Wanna check what other freaks could be in there?" Jerry wagged his C-10 at the direction of the door.

Ryan took the K.O. card and stuck it into a terminal. After a second, the doors flung open, revealing a similar eerie darkness that had enveloped the first room. Slowly striding in, he was shocked even further.

There were _real_ Protoss in these tubes! Ryan slapped off the dew that had collected on the glass. Yes, these were the real deal. What the hell were they doing here? He faced a smooth faced Protoss, still asleep, but with a giant gash in his head. Ryan moved to another, one that was unconscious, but had its leg blown off. And as he checked their status, they were all dead or dying. Shit.

These noble creatures; proud warriors of their race, didn't deserve this. To be displayed as figures and statue like entities for the amusement or curiosity of Terran scientists. They had looked and appeared so...angelic in rumors and stories he had heard... Ryan felt a pan of guilt, like he could feel their pain from within. To die far from home, lost from their loved ones, and sullied by another race. He wanted to try and help, at least those who could make it out...

He moved to the end of the room, hoping to find a live one that he could free, maybe even talk to. At least get to know what had happened... At last he found one, just one out of the ten other Protoss in the room, that had a 'normal' life indicator. It looked old, judging from the scarred and rough skin it had, and was male. The 'hair' it had on its head, tendrils, were they? Ryan wondered. The Protoss had been an enigma to him. Majestic, yet secluded; bloody, yet godlike, this one still had on it the psi blades its race was well known for. He looked franticly for an eject button and eventually found a small red button on the side of the tube's base. Pushing it, he stepped away quickly as the gel slowly drained out of the tube and the glass casing began to recede upwards into the ceiling.

The body twitched a little. Probably due to the long duration of cold it had experienced. Its eyes, though closed, squinted as hard as they could and flickered open. Those eyes were unexplainable in human terms. They glowed a lighter shade of red than that of the emergency lights of the room, and seemed almost divine...or demonic.

The awakened Protoss was by no means friendly. After being stuck in a cryo-tube, which it had most likely been forced into, it was only natural for any being to be cranky. However, Ryan didn't anticipate it. The alien used its left hand to grab Ryan by the throat and hung him in the air. Surprised, Ryan tried to pry the creature's hands from him, but was unsuccessful.

[Pathetic human welp! Did you think to enslave me and my brethren into doing your bidding? The creature spat with outrage. But it wasn't speaking with any visible mouth. No, it was speaking to Ryan with its mind...with telepathy.

"The Hell?! I didn't do anything!" Ryan exclaimed, hoping the alien wasn't really as whacked out as it was acting.

"Holy Shit!" Jerry said as he saw what the Protoss was doing to his comrade. He ran into the room, took cover behind another tube and leveled his gun at the alien's head.

"Drop him! Now!" the hacker ordered. Wasn't it enough that they had to deal with alien-human mutants? But the creature only laughed at the mercenary, in a most maniacal fashion befit of a mad man.

[You think I would yield to the likes of you? Those who would do my kind torture and genocide? the Protoss asked in rage. It lit up a long psi blade on the right hand and pointed it at Ryan's face.

"Whoa! Wait! Listen to me! We're here to bust you out!" Ryan pleaded, sweat began to trickle down in a number of beads from his head as the blade slowly edging towards his flesh. He could already smell some of the strands of hair on his head burn as they came in contact with the cool, blue colored energy weapon, and the sweat seemed to evaporate immediately in the proximity of the weapon.

[I will not bear any more deceit or humiliation from scum like you! It answered him, bellowing into his mind.

Shit! What the hell do I do!? Ryan thought, storming his mind for any bright ideas. I was really trying to help him! Damnit! I thought these guys could read minds!

And then suddenly, it hit him...

"Jerry!" Ryan caught his team mate's attention, "Shoot the inhibitors! In the other room!"

"The hell...?" Jerry was confused as to how anything in the other room could have been of much use at the moment.

"Just do it!" Ryan snapped, irritated by impatience and already scared for his own life.

Not questioning the skipper's orders, Jerry turned around and aimed into the other room, blasting the Inhibitor with an explosive round, and disabling the device in a small cloud of orange explosion.

When Jerry spun around, he saw the eyes of the Protoss lighten up into a bluish color. Its body was still tense, but it seemed willing to let go of Ryan, but was too busy standing in a trance like state.

"Uh, c-could ya let me go now?" Ryan asked as politely as possible, still a little bit unnerved by the near death experience. He looked the Protoss straight in the eye, and could tell that it acquiesced. It let loose its left hand and Ryan slumped to the floor, rubbing his neck, mainly his windpipe.

"What the hell is going on!?" Jerry asked, bewildered by the sight, pointing the gun in the warrior's direction. Ryan got up and walked to him, placing his right hand on the hacker's shoulder, as if to reassure him of their safety.

"Let's say his mind kind of wasn't thinking clearly." Ryan nodded his head towards the leftovers of the Inhibitor. If it had messed up normal telepathy, then the warrior probably wouldn't have known whether or not Ryan was telling the truth. They both turned to look at the Protoss, who was kneeling on the floor, weak and noxious, apparently, from all the time it spent in suspended animation. When it seemed as if the warrior had gotten a hold of itself, the mercs advanced on it.

"So, uh, what's your name?" Ryan asked. Man does that sound cheesy...

[Argulaz, of the Dark Templar. It rasped.

"Ok, well, Argulaz, we're gonna get you outta here." Ryan shouldered warrior under its right arm and ordered Jerry to go under the left, though however reluctant the hacker was to a sort-of homicidal alien. The Protoss felt pebbly, the skin at least, and Ryan noticed it smelled something like moist earth, though with a hint of human sweat. Ugh...

[But what of my brothers...? Argulaz asked. He tilted his head towards the others in storage. Mike shook his head.

"It's too late for them. They're pretty much all dead. You're the only one who was stable enough for rescue anyways." Mike heaved the tall Protoss up as he walked to the exit door. Argulaz hung his head solemnly, his eyes shut in quite contemplation and remembrance. Ryan could feel the anguish, the loss... It wasn't as if he hadn't experienced it either. All those years ago...

Snapping out of that last nostalgic thought, he suddenly remembered to call up on his other teammates.

"Mike? Terry? How's it goin'?" Ryan asked over the comm unit. Static. Nothing but the scrambled blur of static. "Um, guys? Hello?" Still no answer. Crap. Did they get caught or something? Shit. If those guys got jumped, their beans were spilled, or worse yet, maybe even killed off in some horrible manner. They'd have to get to them right away.

More than a little worried, Ryan wasted no time in dragging Jerry and Argulaz across the base to the vehicle repair bay, in hopes of tracing his friends' movements, paying no attention to the hybrids as he passed them; their eyes, opened up to within a millimeter with glowing purple eyes underneath, watching them, plotting still...

**Felmark**: Not too bad. But it could still use more detail. Emotions need to be clarified and more believable.

**Hellcom44**: Next time, call me when there _really_ is some action.

**Beethoven**: STFU.


End file.
